Rural patients less likely to die from cancer

Access to rural GPs is easier than those based at a large urban practice, a study foundGareth Fuller/Press Association

Country dwellers already have less hassle, cleaner air and more beautiful open spaces than those in the city. Now it appears they could also be more likely to survive cancer.

Rural patients were 29 per cent less likely to die from their disease than those in the city, a study has found.

Ease of getting a GP appointment and personal relationships with family doctors could allow rural patients to get help quicker, researchers suggested.

The findings contradicted previous research which suggested that those who needed to travel further to hospital had a higher risk of dying. “There have been a number of papers over the years and almost universally they find that in rural areas outcomes are worse,” said Peter Murchie of the University of…